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For Immediate Release
March 10, 2006
PRAIRIE WOLVES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS UNDER
NEW COACH
Written by Ben Benson, Sports Information Assistant
Improvement was the name of the game for the Nebraska
Wesleyan University women’s basketball team in 2005-06. With
consecutive 6-19 seasons behind them, the Prairie Wolves set out
to improve, and they did just that, finishing with an overall record
of 10-16, including a 7-11 mark in Great Plains Athletic Conference
(GPAC) games.
Meagan Wells
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NWU started slow, winning just three of its first
13 games, but finished strong, going 7-6 in the last half of the
season. The team’s momentum began to swing at home against
Midland Lutheran College on Jan. 11. Meagan Wells scored a career-high
29 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 7-for-10 from behind
the arc to lead the Prairie Wolves to an 88-81 win and just the
fourth victory vs. MLC in team history.
The women continued their run with wins over Briar
Cliff University 64-57 and avenged an earlier loss to Concordia
University, a team which made the NAIA Division II Final Four in
2005, with a 58-56 victory in Seward.
“The win streak improved the confidence level
of the team and made the players believe they could win,”
first-year Head Coach Amy Sander said.
Balanced scoring became a hallmark of this team.
The Prairie Wolves had seven different players lead the team in
scoring, and they all averaged between seven and 12 points per game
for the season. Nebraska Wesleyan’s No. 3 team ranking in
turnover margin among GPAC schools (+2.3 compared to -4.4 last season)
and No. 5 conference ranking in assists are further signs of the
team’s improvement.
Samantha Porter |
Point guard Samantha Porter contributed greatly
to both of these statistics with 113 total assists, which ranks
second on the NWU single-season charts. Porter also moved into the
No. 3 spot all-time for career assists at Nebraska Wesleyan with
285. She led the in assist-to-turnover ratio and was third in total
assists. At season’s end, Porter received All-Conference honorable
mention for her efforts.
Another highlight was NWU’s 72-63 win over
Mt. Marty College at home on Jan. 28. Forward Devan Aschtgen led
the team in scoring against the Lancers with 20 points and contributed
seven rebounds in the win. Aschtgen, who was later named All-GPAC
Second Team, finished the season as the team’s top scorer
and rebounder, averaging 12 points and 5.8 boards per game.
Three days later, Nebraska Wesleyan nearly upset
No. 10-ranked Doane College, which went on to qualify for the NAIA
Division II Championship. In fact, the Prairie Wolves were ahead
by nine points with less than eight minutes remaining in the game
before falling 56-53. NWU split its last four conference games and
finished with seven GPAC wins, the most since 2000-01.
Angie Schlecht |
In late February, the women wrapped-up the season
at the four-team Division III Independent Tournament in Colorado
Springs, where NWU stunned regionally-ranked and top-seeded Chapman
University 91-67. Senior Angie Schlecht contributed a career-high
33 points, going 12-for-18 from the field against the Panthers,
who later received a bid to the NCAA Div. III Championships.
Schlecht followed up with a 27-point showing the
following evening in the championship game, a 73-68 overtime loss
to Colorado College. She and fellow senior Christine Johnson were
named to the All-Tournament Team, and Schlecht was also named Association
of Division III Independents Player of the Week, after averaging
30 points and 6.5 rebounds during the tournament.
“(This season) was a good start toward where
we want to be,” Sander said. |
